The Circular Economy and Anglo American

Today, employees of Anglo American have taken part in our Circular Economy Day - a virtual event exploring the challenges and opportunities that the circular economy represents and how they can help us to deliver our Sustainable Mining Plan targets. Below we take a look at some of the stories shared.

But what is the circular economy? For many, the circular economy just means recycling. But it is much more than that.

It’s about minimising waste and making the most of what we have, natural resources included. It advocates re-using, re-designing, sharing, repairing, refurbishing, re-manufacturing and recycling - using fewer resources in the first place and using them for longer. And at a more fundamental level, it’s about creating new models for the businesses involved to promote and incentivise efficiency.

Within Anglo American, there are already many examples of circular economy-related activities in various parts of the business. Most of it is happening upstream and relates to more efficient use of water, energy, and land.

Anglo American Platinum: Zero waste to landfill

One of the most inspiring examples of the circular economy in action in Anglo American comes from our Platinum business, where - almost eight years ago - they set themselves the target of sending zero waste to landfill by the end of 2020.

At that stage the annual figure was 22.12 kilotonnes. To put that in perspective, that's about the same weight as the Statue of Liberty in New York. So, the challenge was monumental.

In 2020, that was reduced to 1.76 kilotonnes for the entire year, with all managed operations reaching the zero target by the end of December for the first time.

We are thrilled and very proud

Hermanus Prinsloo Lead – Environment, for Platinum

“Achieving zero waste to landfill in 2020 is a major milestone for Anglo American Platinum, which speaks about commitment to the environment by management and each employee. A staggering 92% reduction of waste to landfill – the first mining company to achieve this significant milestone.”

The waste targeted by Platinum is the non-mineral waste that we produce (both hazardous and non-hazardous) and what hasn't been completely reduced is re-used or recycled.

Five years into the project, the team brought waste specialists, Interwaste, on board – a move that is credited with bringing about a step-change in progress.

“Interwaste helped us to define strategies and dedicated Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle solutions for each of our sites,” says Dustin Van Helsdingen, who joined the team as Project Lead. “They helped us to see that by treating waste as a resource rather than merely sending it to landfill, we could use it to make savings as well as generate extra revenue.It required a fundamental mind shift to see waste as a valuable commodity, encouraging investment, creativity, and innovative solutions.

“ZW2L is not just about keeping materials out of landfills; it’s also about reducing demand for things that are transient, [things] that we just throw away after using them.”

Getting different sites on board with the project was key to its success and to bring operations and individuals on board, the team appointed site-specific waste champions.

"By understanding the waste streams and quantities generated per site, we were able to set meaningful targets and monitor them,” comments Dustin. “And we got great support from leadership teams from executives to General Managers (GMs) and their teams to achieve this.”

One of those GMs was Daan Breet from Platinum’s Far Eastern Limb (FEL) Operations. As well as embracing the project’s principle on site, Daan and his team brought the ZW2L approach to life in the local community.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, they donated 10 recycling bikes to women in Tubatse-Fetakgomo municipality to increase their income and reduce waste in area.

“People can earn an income from reclaiming the recyclable materials that were polluting the town,” says Daan. “We realised that the pandemic was affecting women particularly and many had lost their source of income, so we made this donation to support them at this challenging time and to demonstrate our commitment to achieving our ZW2L target.

”I am extremely proud of the fact that each single Platinum employee made the ZW2L challenge their own and as a result, has helped create a better environment for our children and improves people’s lives”.

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